Tri-City A Run Shy in Season-Opening Pitcher’s Duel

The visiting Tri-City Dust Devils (0-1) got five scoreless innings from starter Joel Hurtado in his High-A debut, but the Eugene Emeralds (1-0) scored the lone run of the game in the 9^th to walk off with a 1-0 win at PK Park to open the 2024 Northwest League season.

Eugene scored its winner with two out when Emeralds C Onil Perez hit a hard line drive to left-center off a pitch from Tri-City reliever Cam Minacci (0-1). LF Jorge Ruiz and CF Werner Blakely both raced over to try and get it, with the ball deflecting off a sliding Blakely and falling to the turf. Eugene CF Scott Bandura, who singled to lead off the 9^th, scored from first on the Perez RBI double to end the game and give Emeralds reliever Cam Cotter (1-0) the win.

Previous to the final frame Tri-City put together eight innings of scoreless pitching, led by Hurtado’s start. The Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic native struck out five in his outing, walking only one and keeping Eugene off the scoreboard. Lefty Dylan Phillips threw a scoreless 6^th inning, followed by righty Jared Southard throwing two perfect innings to get the game to the 9^th.

Dust Devils hitters were held to two hits, with singles by SS Denzer Guzman in the 1^st inning and 1B Matt Coutney in the 7^th. Coutney added a great defensive play by snagging a line drive and hustling to first for an unassisted double play in the 2^nd inning that helped cut off an Emeralds scoring threat.

DH Alberto Rios also reached base in his High-A debut, getting hit by a pitch in the 2^nd inning. Rios, the 2023 Pac-12 Player of the Year, was one of five Tri-City position players making their High-A debut in the ballgame.

The Dust Devils will look to rebound in game two of their three-game opening series with Eugene at 6:05 p.m. Saturday night at PK Park. Tri-City will send righty Jorge Marcheco (3-1, 1.88 ERA for the Dust Devils in 2023) to the mound, where he made a stellar debut last July (6 scoreless IP, 2 H, 8 Ks/0 BB) that earned him Northwest League Pitcher of the Week honors. The Emeralds will counter with lefty Hayden Wynja (3-4, 4.40 ERA with Eugene in 2023).

Broadcast coverage will begin with the pregame show at 5:45 p.m., both here and on the MiLB app.

After the series Tri-City will head back to Pasco for their 2024 home opener on Tuesday, April 9, against the Spokane Indians at Gesa Stadium. Postgame fireworks will light the night sky, thanks to CO-Energy, and the first 500 fans will receive a magnet schedule thanks to Tri-Cities Community Health.

Tickets for the Spokane series, including the first Rooster Tails game of 2024 on Saturday, April 13, are on sale now with special ticket rates available for groups of 20 or more. For more information on Dust Devils single game, season, mini-plan (11, 22, 33) and group tickets, visit the team’s official ticketing site, dustdevilsbaseball.com.